University Professor Angered by Time Magazine Washington Mudslide Coverage

Among those still subscribing to the print edition of Time is Dr. Harvard Ayers (pictured), professor emeritus of anthropology at Appalachian State University. And apparently, he was none too thrilled with the publication’s coverage of the horrific mudslide in Oslo, WA.

From a blog post by local resident, writer-photographer Subhankar Banerjee:

[In the email to me], Ayers writes: ‘It made me visibly angry to read Time magazine’s coverage of the Washington landslide in this week’s magazine. All Nature, no mention of Homo Sapiens’ responsibility (logging and climate change as we know).’

Banerjee goes on to explain why he agrees with Ayers; it’s an interesting read. While Time at the Web end is far from the only outlet to skip over this debatable aspect of the Washington disaster, it’s worth pondering the broader issues raised by the professor and pursued by his colleague. Argues Banerjee:

The Time story is not “false balance,” but instead, suppression–by–silence, a form of self–censorship. If we don’t talk about it, it doesn’t exist. By not discussing clear cutting and global warming, a deadly mudslide becomes a natural tragedy that we are supposed to mourn, without critical thinking.

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